Posts Tagged ‘Tom Morello’
Zack de la Rocha skips Rock Hall Induction to Attend March for Palestine
Rage Against the Machine frontman, Zack de la Rocha, skipped the band’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction to attend a protest in support of Palestine. The induction ceremony took place on Friday November 4th and was televised live for the first time. Aside from the Spinners, RATM was the only band to be inducted this year with most artists in the 2023 class being solo acts. Notable mentions include Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, and the father of hip hop – DJ Kool Herc.
The band’s only member to attend the ceremony was guitarist Tom Morello. Accepting the induction on behalf of the band, he used the platform as a continued call for action. In his speech he encouraged, “If you are a student, start an underground newspaper. If you’re an anarchist, throw a brick. If you are a soldier or policeman, follow your conscience and not your orders. If you’re disappointed you didn’t get to see Rage Against the Machine, form your own band and let us hear what you have to say.”
The march in support of Palestine took place this past weekend in Washington, D.C. and was a powerful call for ceasefire. For several weeks, Israel has bombarded Palestine’s city of Gaza, leaving thousands of civilians dead in their wake. Thus far, the United States Government has passed a $14 billion dollar military aid package to Israel, which is a stark comparison to the $100 million humanitarian aid package that President Biden pledged to Palestine in October. The D.C. march was attended by hundreds of thousands of folks and was organized by several pro-Palestinian groups.
In a post via Twitter, activist and videographer Sunny Singh remarks, “300,000 of us marched on DC today in support of Palestinian self-determination and called for an end to Israel’s genocide. Cell service tanked the livestream but I ran into Zack de la Rocha who came out for the march…We talked for a while about how this is a tipping point in history. People are waking up to how interconnected the fight for liberation is, from Ferguson to Gaza.”
Of course, RATM is no stranger to referencing injustice and conflict in their lyrics.
In their track “Mic Check” from album The Battle of Los Angeles, Rage references Gaza and Intifada, the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation that took place in 1987.
Rage Against The Machine cancelled their tour last year when Zack de la Rocha tore his Achilles tendon during the band’s second show. Aside from a surprise guest appearance at Run The Jewels’ Los Angeles concert last month, de la Rocha has not taken to the stage. It seems that RATM is letting the music speak for them in the urging of today’s fans to use it as a call to action.
Featured courtesy Sunny Singh on Twitter @hate5six, Tom Morello photo courtesy of Theo Wargo (Getty Images), article by Tiffany (Rune) Cuthrell
Rage Against The Machine Announce Global Tour, Including Stop In Detroit
Today rap/metal giants Rage Against The Machine announced a global tour with support from incredible duo, Run The Jewels. Their trek will include a stop at Detroit’s Little Caesar’s Arena on Monday July 13th. The band’s lineup includes all original members with Zack de la Rocha on vocals, Tom Morello on guitar, Tim Commerford on bass, and Brad Wilk on drums.
The news is welcome after a nine year hiatus for the band. Shows in the Southwest and some festival stops had been announced previously, but the added dates allow many more fans to get in on the fist up action. The “Public Service Announcement” tour will span seven months, beginning in Texas this March, and wrapping up in Austria in September. Tickets will go on sale this Thursday the 13th at 11 AM local time through Rage Against The Machine’s website and Live Nation.
In typical RATM fashion, the tour will be contributing to several charities through portions of ticket sales, volunteering, and donations. All of the proceeds from the shows in El Paso, TX, Las Cruces, NM, and Glendale, AZ will go to immigrant rights organizations.
Check out the full list of tour dates below…
Rage Against The Machine – “Public Service Announcement” Tour Dates :
March 26th — El Paso, TX : Don Haskins Center
March 28th — Las Cruces, NM : Pan American Center
March 30th — Glendale, AZ @ Gila River Arena
April 10th — Indio, CA : Coachella
April 17th — Indio, CA : Coachella
April 21st — Oakland, CA : Oakland Arena
April 25th — Portland, OR : Moda Center
April 28th — Tacoma, WA : Tacoma Dome
May 1st — Vancouver, BC : Pacific Coliseum at the PNE
May 3rd — Edmonton, AB : Rogers Place
May 5th — Calgary, AB : Scotiabank Saddledome
May 7th — Winnipeg, MB : Bell MTS Place
May 9th — Sioux Falls, SD : Denny Sanford Premier Center
May 11th — Minneapolis, MN : Target Center
May 14th — Kansas City, MO : Sprint Center
May 16th — St. Louis, MO : Enterprise Center
May 19th — Chicago, IL : United Center
May 23rd — Boston, MA : Boston Calling
June 19th — Dover, DE : Firefly
July 10th — East Troy, WI : Alpine Valley Music Theatre
July 13th — Detroit, MI : Little Caesars Arena
July 17th — Ottawa, ON : Ottawa Bluesfest
July 18th — Festival d’Été de Québec : Festival d’Été de Québec
July 21st — Hamilton, ON : FirstOntario Centre
July 23rd — Toronto, ON : Scotiabank Arena
July 27th — Buffalo, NY : KeyBank Center
July 29th — Cleveland, OH : Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
July 31st — Pittsburgh, PA : PPG Paints Arena
August 2nd — Raleigh, NC : PNC Arena
August 4th — Washington DC : Capital One Arena
August 7th — Camden, NJ : BB&T Pavilion
August 10th — New York, NY : Madison Square Garden
August 11th — New York, NY : Madison Square Garden
August 28th — Leeds, UK : Leeds Festival
August 30th — Reading, UK : Reading Festival
September 1st — Paris, France : Rock En Seine Festival
September 4th — Stradbally Laois, Ireland : Electric Picnic Festival
September 6th — Berlin, Germany : Lollapalooza Berlin Festival
September 8th — Prague, Czech Republic : O2 Arena
September 10th — Krakow, Poland : Tauron Arena
September 12th – Viena, Austria : Wiener Stadthalle
Article by Tiffany Cuthrell, featured photo courtesy of Live Nation, tour promo courtesy of Virgil Abloh
Rage Against The Machine Is Returning In 2020!
Dreams have come true for Rage Against The Machine fans the world over.
With fists up, we received the exciting news that the powerful band will be reuniting in 2020 with five shows in the southwest. Many of the band’s songs have touched on immigration and struggles of those our society has passed over. With 2020 being an important election year, it must be no mistake that the dates are all very close to the US and Mexican border.
Rage Against the Machine last performed together in 2011 in Los Angeles, and a reunion has long since seemed implausible. The band’s members have frequently been questioned about such a reunion, but all have been busy with their own endeavors. Rage’s leader, Zack de la Rocha, released a single entitled “Digging For Windows” in 2016, but no other solo material has come since. Influential offset, Prophets Of Rage was born in response to the 2016 election. The supergroup consists of Rage’s guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk, as well as B-Real of Cypress Hill, and Chuck D of Public Enemy.
The five dates were posted through the band’s Twitter, leaving no doubt that this news is legitimate. Venues are yet to be announced, but the dates in California coincide with Coachella’s two weekends.
El Paso, TX – March 26th, 2020
Las Cruces, NM – March 28th, 2020
Phoenix, AZ – March 30, 2020
Indio, CA – April 10th, 2020
Indio, CA – April 17th, 2020
Rage will no doubt make waves, take a stand, and bring their welcome voices to the forefront of America next Spring. Here’s hoping more announcements and dates are soon to follow.
Chilean protests photo by Susana Hidalgo, courtesy of @RATM twitter